


Night's Closed Its Eyes (But You Can't Rest Your Head)

by IceBlueRose



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Feel free to see this as Rogue Canary or pre-Rogue Canary, Gen, set sometime after season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 00:04:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11725356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceBlueRose/pseuds/IceBlueRose
Summary: While they're in Central City for downtime, Mick can't sleep.





	Night's Closed Its Eyes (But You Can't Rest Your Head)

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be honest, I still haven't seen all of season 2 so if I'm off about some details, that's why. But I've seen enough clips and the like that I have a pretty good idea what happened.
> 
> Set after season 2 and the team's gotten Leonard back.
> 
> Italics are flashbacks, bold is texting.

Central City was too quiet.

Not literally, of course. Mick could still hear the sounds of the city outside—cars driving by, business closing for the night—but he couldn’t hear any of the noise he was used to, the noise that had become the reason he preferred the Waverider to shore time (except when Gideon was on another health kick).

He’d gotten used to the sound of Haircut and Pretty Boy causing some sort of trouble and making a mess. Blondie going in to threaten them if they kept it up, the thunk of a knife sinking in to the target when she needed to think, the tap of her nails as she considered their next mission. Amaya criticizing the nerds, a hint of amusement in her voice as she did so. The kid egging them on or working on the engine. The flip of pages when the Professor read or his annoyed muttering when he tried to figure out some formula that Mick gave zero damns about.

And after they’d broken time (then fixed it, not that English had liked it when Mick had pointed that out), the sound of cards being shuffled or the cold gun being taken apart, cleaned, and put back together.

Mick glared at the light from the street lamp coming through the window. He huffed in annoyance and twisted so that his back was to the window.

Even the view was wrong.

He had thought that he’d hate the sight of the time stream after everything he’d gone through as Chronos but instead he’d gotten used to the sight of green, purple, and black swirling and twisting together. He liked focusing on those colors. It made him forget the blues and white that had surrounded him in that damn “rehabilitation” room the Time Bastards had.

Nothing about being away from the Waverider felt right.

It made it harder to block out the memories of his years as Chronos.

Mick wasn’t usually one for regrets and he didn’t regret that he had more control over himself but he regretted how easy it had been for those bastards to manipulate him.

_“I’m no one’s lap dog, bird man.”_

Mick snorted and rolled so that he was lying on his back again, staring up at the ceiling. He remembered the anger he’d felt when Carter had made his snide “you and your lap dog” comment to Leonard. That anger had built until he’d turned on the team, becoming furious when his partner had chosen them.

That anger (and the Time Bastards) had controlled him for years. He’d killed without a thought, simply because those were his orders and Mick was good at following orders and because he knew that eventually he’d get his chance to go after the partner that had betrayed him. When he’d been caught by the team, he’d fought to hold on to Chronos because it was easier. He’d brushed off Rip and Ray and everyone else that had come to talk to him. Then Sara had come in and instead of talking about how sorry she was about what might have happened or how she had treated him like the others had, she had given it to him straight.

_“No one thinks you can change.”_

Mick had respected that. And he might not have appreciated it at the time but he respected the way she’d pushed him about Leonard.

But once he and Leonard had worked things out—so to speak—he hadn’t had that anger towards his partner and the team to focus on. So his focus had switched to getting to know what had changed for Leonard (and fighting not to laugh at how often he’d gravitated towards Sara).

Then everything had gone to hell and, sure, he’d had the team but it wasn’t the same without Leonard there and anger, along with protecting the team, had been all he had again.

It had been a constant battle not to give in to Chronos and start killing again, to act like nothing but a common thug who did nothing but drink, eat, and push people’s buttons.

He’d had nightmares about what would happen if he didn’t protect the others, if he gave in to the anger, and he’d gained a brand new understanding for how Sara had felt about her bloodlust when the team had first been formed.

The only way he’d had of coping had been drinking himself to sleep every chance he had.

Except no amount of drinking had prepared him for dealing with a past version of Leonard. Especially one that was so different than the Leonard he originally knew in 2013. That version of Leonard had been ruthless in a way that the one Mick had known wasn’t.

_“Okay, I just have to ask,” Nate said, pointing in the direction of the brig, not bothering to hide the anger in his voice. “Is that asshole really the guy that sacrificed himself for the team?”_

_Sara shook her head. “No.” She met Mick’s eyes for what felt like the first time in months before looking at Nate. “That wasn’t the Leonard we knew. The Leonard we knew once had the chance to kill Mick and he couldn’t do it.”_

_“Is this what he was like before he was part of the team?” Jax asked, frowning._

_Even as Sara shook her head, Mick spoke up. “No.” He paused, considering whether or not to explain in more detail before he let out a breath. “This world that they created? He’d have hated it, no matter what year he was from. Stealing was a game to him and he wanted to win by being the best. He wouldn’t have wanted to win like this.” Mick glanced towards the brig. “Not to mention that he tried to keep the casualties low. Hell, if there was competition on a job, he preferred to outsmart them. Only time I saw him kill was if they wanted out. It was the best way to keep the crew safe.”_

_“Wow,” Ray said, looking as though he’d just realized something. “So you never left his crew?”_

_Mick snorted. “I left plenty, Haircut.”_

_Nate frowned. “But you just said—“_

_“I know what I said,” he interrupted sharply._

_Amaya tilted her head as she watched him. “You were the exception.”_

_“Yeah,” he confirmed, shifting. “The point I’m trying to make is this wasn't like him. Star City 2046 last year? I loved it. I had the better weapon than the criminals there and I was able to take over the local crew. I wanted to stay. But the boss? He hated it. It was a never ending party—tons of booze, willing men and women, people taking orders, and no cops. I was having the time of my life. But I look over to see what the boss is doing and he’s falling asleep at the bar, bored out of his mind.” Mick shook his head in amusement at the memory. “Said there was no challenge. He was trying to get me to leave when we heard there was a price for a blonde assassin and an Englishman. Nothing was going to keep him there after that.” He let out a breath. “First time he ever called you guys his friends.”_

_“You believe that Damien Darhk did something to him,” Stein concluded._

_Sara nodded. “He did say that the first thing he did was get his magic back.”_

_Mick crossed his arms. “Whenever Leonard worked with someone, he’d get the job done but he always kept his eyes open for something else. Didn’t want to miss out on any opportunities. In 2013, if Leonard had been working with one crew and he saw me working with another, he’d have at least checked them out to see what made me willing to work with them. It should have been the same with you guys, no matter his feelings about heroes.”_

_Comprehension dawned on Nate’s face. “That’s why you guys think something was done to him. He didn’t even consider why we might be going against the Legion,” he said, ignoring the face Sara made at the name. “He was just willing to kill for them from the start.”_

_Sara nodded. “Exactly,” she agreed before glancing at Mick in question. He nodded, still able to read her after all the time they’d spent not speaking to each other. “There was one other thing. Mick said he never mentioned his sister.”_

_The members of the team that had known Leonard Snart in 2016 all nodded in agreement._

_“Makes sense,” Jax said. “When the Pilgrim started going after the people we care about, his sister was the one that was taken.”_

_“He doesn’t exactly seem to be the family man type though,” Amaya pointed out. “So why is that a sign that something is wrong with him?”_

_“Boss didn’t care about many people,” Mick told her. “Lisa was always top of the list though. He helped those bastards create a brand new reality but he never once went to check on her or even sent someone to check for him. He’d have made sure she was okay at least.”_

_“So how do we get him back to the Leonard Snart that we knew?” Ray asked as Amaya nodded at Mick in understanding._

_“Theoretically, once you reset his memories after we drop him off in the correct time, he should be fine,” Stein mused._

_“Anything more concrete?” Sara asked, frowning. Mick knew the feeling. After all, if the Professor’s theory was wrong, Leonard might never join the team. It would change everything._

_Then again, Leonard would be alive, wouldn’t he?_

_“Mr. Snart is already showing a difference in the pattern of his brainwaves from when he was brought on the ship earlier,” Gideon announced, interrupting their thoughts. “I believe the theory about Damien Darhk’s magic is correct as the difference in Mr. Snart began to show up when Mr. Darhk was no longer around to influence him.”_

_“So, he’s already on his way back to becoming the Leonard that joined the team?” Sara asked._

_“Yes, Captain.”_

_If Mick hadn’t already suspected how she felt about his partner, the look of sheer relief on her face would have told him everything._

Mick made it a point to go against the Time Bastards whenever he could, even now, so interacting with his past self hadn’t been something that he’d had a problem with.

Add in the fact that breaking time had gotten his partner back and he really didn’t care about violating the rules of time travel or whatever else English and his new Time Bureau wanted to bitch about. The team had finally felt complete.

Remembering didn’t do him any good now though. Half an hour later, Mick finally gave up and accepted that sleep wasn’t going to happen. He reached out and grabbed his phone, sending a short text.

**Out of beer.**

It only took a few minutes before his phone lit up with a reply.

**Come on over.**

He didn’t bother to change, only shoved his feet in to his boots, grabbing his keys and slipping his phone and wallet in to the pocket of his flannel pants as he headed for the door.

The drive didn’t take long and it was only twenty minutes before Mick pulled in to the driveway of a house near the edge of town. He pulled out his phone and sent one last text before shoving it back in his pocket.

**Here.**

There was no response, not that Mick had expected one, but by the time he had gotten to the door, Leonard was already there, holding it open. Neither of them said anything as Mick toed his boots off, kicked them to the side with the other shoes piled there, and hung his keys next to the others before following Leonard back to the bedroom.

His phone and wallet were dropped on the dresser, drawing a quiet huff of amusement from Leonard that Mick ignored as he slid to the middle of the bed, settling on his back next to Sara. His lips twitched up in to a small smile when she turned and threw an arm across his stomach, squeezing him lightly in greeting.

Behind him, he heard Leonard take out the extra charger they kept for him and plug his phone in. A few moments later, the bed dipped and Leonard’s arm stretched across Mick’s stomach, just above Sara’s.

For the first time all night, Mick felt himself relax.

It only took him minutes to fall asleep.


End file.
